Matthew 1:18-21
18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
This year for our Advent teachings at New Life (where I serve as Pastor), I wanted to look at Advent differently than I had before. I was struck by the "under-side" of Advent as I came to call it. I've looked at Advent over the years from various angles and loved the different facets of each. Advent seems like a diamond...turn it around and around and look at it from different points of views, and each has its own beauty.
This Advent my focus has been very "human"...as I said, the "under-side" of Advent where the narrative in scripture speaks of the human reactions - in my view, the human mess that Advent brought about.
Most of us are not use to thinking that with God's intervention in life that a "Mess" is created, but it happens...probably more frequently than were comfortable with.
The story from Matthew illustrates that mess. Mary is "pledged"...literally "betrothed" to Joseph. Betrothals were not merely engagements. In our culture and engagement is a pledge to be married, but we all know that from time to time a person will break an engagement and the wedding is "off". That could not happen in Joseph and Mary's day.
Mary was a young virgin - probably between 12-15 years of age. Her marriage was an arrangement between her family and Joseph's family. Joseph is probably somewhere between 16-18 years old. They lived in a small village, so both families knew each other and probably talked about their children marrying for a couple of years or more before it actually came about. Did Mary and Joseph have a say...it's hard to know for certain. Usually children had little say in the actual arrangement.
Not only was the marriage arranged, the betrothal served as a contract...a legal agreement that would have been known to the Elders, Rabbi, and others. Betrothals were the time period between that agreement and the actual wedding. In Israel marriage was two specific things: The Covenant of the Agreement and the Consummation of the couple after their public wedding. In between was this Betrothal period. The only way a Betrothal could be broken was if infidelity (or death) of one of the two took place - and if by infidelity, a public declaration was made to the elders and Rabbi followed by an official grant of Divorce.
In other words...Mary's situation presented a MESS...As far as Joseph and any other person - Mary's parents, Joseph's parents and their families, the people who were their neighbors and perhaps most of the community - knew was that Mary had committed infidelity. There's no other explanation for how a young virgin girl gets pregnant - is there?
From the human side - the under-side that cannot see God at work, Mary's account of what was going on must have seemed preposterous to Joseph - a sort of "how dumb do you think I am?", or "you've got to be kidding to think I'll believe that". Joseph - as other husbands to be have been - is blind-sided. He is devastated and hurt, but his character is intact and it is his character and relationship with God that surfaces in the Mess.
It is always our character that comes forth in the Messy problems of life.
Joseph - scripture tells us - vs19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
Character: Truth and Love
Character: Care about God and care about others
Character: Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and your (nearby one) neighbor as yourself.
Character: Full of Grace and Truth
Joseph's character is one of real godly character. He will not overlook the laws requirements, but he does not want to shame Mary in a public way. He chooses to do what needs to be done, quietly.
In an age that glamorizes and publishes all discretions we can learn much from Joseph.
Yet, this speaks much more of just how to handle Messy Problems...We all have them. OR, We all WILL have them.
Think about it...this is not the plan Joseph had in mind when he an Mary were pledged to be married.
Joseph just didn't embrace the Mess...he would live with the Mess throughout his lifetime. God came to him in a dream and showed him what was going on...so Joseph stepped into a place of faithful trust in taking Mary as his wife, and becoming the earthly Father of Jesus. But Joseph and Mary were the only ones who knew - no one else was privy to God's work at this time. The gossip, finger pointing, talking behind their backs, etc...that kind of Mess would not ever go away.
Embrace God and most assuredly the human mess will follow.
This is not the family Joseph imagined.
Then again, all of us who are married can testify that the family that followed us into our marriage was not necessarily the family life we envisioned.
Life is a Messy Problem and the only sure thing, the only secure thing, and the only promised thing is that God said, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you."
Advent came with Messy Problems
Peace
18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
This year for our Advent teachings at New Life (where I serve as Pastor), I wanted to look at Advent differently than I had before. I was struck by the "under-side" of Advent as I came to call it. I've looked at Advent over the years from various angles and loved the different facets of each. Advent seems like a diamond...turn it around and around and look at it from different points of views, and each has its own beauty.
This Advent my focus has been very "human"...as I said, the "under-side" of Advent where the narrative in scripture speaks of the human reactions - in my view, the human mess that Advent brought about.
Most of us are not use to thinking that with God's intervention in life that a "Mess" is created, but it happens...probably more frequently than were comfortable with.
The story from Matthew illustrates that mess. Mary is "pledged"...literally "betrothed" to Joseph. Betrothals were not merely engagements. In our culture and engagement is a pledge to be married, but we all know that from time to time a person will break an engagement and the wedding is "off". That could not happen in Joseph and Mary's day.
Mary was a young virgin - probably between 12-15 years of age. Her marriage was an arrangement between her family and Joseph's family. Joseph is probably somewhere between 16-18 years old. They lived in a small village, so both families knew each other and probably talked about their children marrying for a couple of years or more before it actually came about. Did Mary and Joseph have a say...it's hard to know for certain. Usually children had little say in the actual arrangement.
Not only was the marriage arranged, the betrothal served as a contract...a legal agreement that would have been known to the Elders, Rabbi, and others. Betrothals were the time period between that agreement and the actual wedding. In Israel marriage was two specific things: The Covenant of the Agreement and the Consummation of the couple after their public wedding. In between was this Betrothal period. The only way a Betrothal could be broken was if infidelity (or death) of one of the two took place - and if by infidelity, a public declaration was made to the elders and Rabbi followed by an official grant of Divorce.
In other words...Mary's situation presented a MESS...As far as Joseph and any other person - Mary's parents, Joseph's parents and their families, the people who were their neighbors and perhaps most of the community - knew was that Mary had committed infidelity. There's no other explanation for how a young virgin girl gets pregnant - is there?
From the human side - the under-side that cannot see God at work, Mary's account of what was going on must have seemed preposterous to Joseph - a sort of "how dumb do you think I am?", or "you've got to be kidding to think I'll believe that". Joseph - as other husbands to be have been - is blind-sided. He is devastated and hurt, but his character is intact and it is his character and relationship with God that surfaces in the Mess.
It is always our character that comes forth in the Messy problems of life.
Joseph - scripture tells us - vs19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
Character: Truth and Love
Character: Care about God and care about others
Character: Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and your (nearby one) neighbor as yourself.
Character: Full of Grace and Truth
Joseph's character is one of real godly character. He will not overlook the laws requirements, but he does not want to shame Mary in a public way. He chooses to do what needs to be done, quietly.
In an age that glamorizes and publishes all discretions we can learn much from Joseph.
Yet, this speaks much more of just how to handle Messy Problems...We all have them. OR, We all WILL have them.
Think about it...this is not the plan Joseph had in mind when he an Mary were pledged to be married.
Joseph just didn't embrace the Mess...he would live with the Mess throughout his lifetime. God came to him in a dream and showed him what was going on...so Joseph stepped into a place of faithful trust in taking Mary as his wife, and becoming the earthly Father of Jesus. But Joseph and Mary were the only ones who knew - no one else was privy to God's work at this time. The gossip, finger pointing, talking behind their backs, etc...that kind of Mess would not ever go away.
Embrace God and most assuredly the human mess will follow.
This is not the family Joseph imagined.
Then again, all of us who are married can testify that the family that followed us into our marriage was not necessarily the family life we envisioned.
Life is a Messy Problem and the only sure thing, the only secure thing, and the only promised thing is that God said, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you."
Advent came with Messy Problems
Peace
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